


Nobody Expects The Goddess of Mischief to be the Politest Person in the House

by A_Tomb_With_A_View



Series: Let’s be real, Bucky would be on Team Iron Man [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bird boys redemption arc, Brainwashing, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, F/M, Hurt Clint Barton, M/M, Not Natasha Romanoff Friendly, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, gender fluid Loki, i love clint, loki and Stephen are the ultimate power couple, not mcu Clint but proper Clint, not team Cap friendly, not wanda maximoff friendly, sam gives him a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:33:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24145930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Tomb_With_A_View/pseuds/A_Tomb_With_A_View
Summary: !!This won’t make sense if you haven’t read a large majority of this series!!Bird boys redemption arc, Stephen and Loki are a power couple, Wanda gets dealt with
Relationships: Barney Barton/Laura Barton (mentioned), Clint Barton/Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Loki/Stephen Strange
Series: Let’s be real, Bucky would be on Team Iron Man [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1264283
Comments: 26
Kudos: 528





	Nobody Expects The Goddess of Mischief to be the Politest Person in the House

**Author's Note:**

> A fair few people have asked me to deal with Wanda, and what better time than when I should be doing chemistry? 
> 
> Bird boys redemption arc because I really doubt everything was shared with them, and the real Clint Barton would never hurt us like that

Maximoff was a problem.

Tony had known this for years, but he thought that when Rogers and Romanov were dealt with, when Clint and Sam approached the tower having found the fuck tonne of information that Rogers and Romanov had kept from, them full of apologies and shame, when Scott went crawling back to Hope, that the witch would realise that she was either in the wrong, or she was next, and there were no two ways about it.

Apparently, Tony was wrong.

He was glad to have the birdmen though. He’d missed Clint, had been shocked and _hurt_ by the way the guy had been so eager to turn on him until he’d revealed that Laura wasn’t his wife but his brother’s, and that he’d sworn to Barney to keep them safe and that Cap had promised to do that, had promised to find the prison Barney was rotting in for crimes Clint knew he wasn’t stupid enough to commit, had promised the witch could help him with the aftermath of Loki. He revealed that Nat hadn’t even said anything, had seemed to approve of Cap’s promises, how could he not trust Nat?Clint had been so tangled up in trying to be able to look at blue light without spiralling into a panic that hurt everyone around him that he’d forgotten that Nat was his _partner_ , not his boss, forgotten that he was a master spy and assassin in his own right, and that there was a reason he was the only one she’d work with for years, there was a reason he’d been an avenger. He’d been so in awe that he’d let her get caught up in her own legend, and had never had the guts and the confidence to remind her that he’d been there every _goddamn_ time, that for the last decade it hadn’t been the Black Widow, it had been Strike Team Delta. He’d ended the conversation with a quiet ask for nothing but access to BARF to remove whatever it was that was stuck in his brain, even if that access was from prison, and if Tony wanted a project that wasn’t important but might be challenging, could he please try make some hearing aids that worked on magic deafness. The witch had tried to remove an auditory trigger and had simply removed his hearing. 

Sam was similar, so ensnared in the fame and power of the people he was around that he hadn’t been able to consider that maybe what they were doing was wrong. It was easier to forgive Sam. There was no history of camaraderie and long nights spent making jokes Cap never approved of and throwing popcorn at terrible films. He was just another guy that had trusted Captain America and hadn’t been able to tell Steve Rogers that it was time to back down. 

It Took months of working, months of respectful distances and long conversations, but they worked past it. But once Clint and Winter were as thick as thieves, once Sam and James could rip the absolute shit out of each other and know they were joking, once Peter no longer felt the need to walk out of any room the men were in, once Clint’s knees buckled and his eyes shined in pure gratitude when Tony handed him a pair of hearing aids, once Sam, after a full month of teasing from every single person that interacted with him for more than two seconds, kissed Clint when the guy had run around the whole tower just to hear what was happening with pure, unadulterated joy radiating from him, that’s when Tony forgave them fully. 

Then Loki returned.

——

It healed something in Tony, the way Clint turned to Tony upon Loki’s arrival, as if to say _I trust you brought him here for good reasons_ , despite his eyes being wide with fear and the tremor in the hand that wasn’t taken by Sam.

Loki regaled them with the full story. The threats and brainwashing from Ronan, the need to be a part of something after the events with Thor and Odin, everything. He finished it with a heartfelt apology to Clint, who looked completely frozen in place at the attention from the god. 

“I’m sorry for killing your lover too.” Loki added after a moment. “Coulson. Although, I believe he is alive? I heard mention of it when I was last on earth.” 

The colour drained from Clint’s face, and he looked immediately to Tony and James. “Do you want me to get him here?” Tony asked slowly, unsure of what was being requested of him. 

Clint shook his head faintly. “I don’t-I can’t..it’s been years.” He whispered. “Can..could you just ask him why?” He finished eventually. 

Tony nodded, and got FRIDAY to start typing out the email in the back of his mind. “No visits here, though?”

“I don’t want to see him. I know I should just man up and face my fears and it’s impractical to hold a grudge but please don’t make me see him.” Tony and James both looked to Sam, who mouthed ‘later’ at them. 

Loki explained everything that had happened on Asgard, and asked if his people could have anywhere to stay. He also mentioned that he’d heard of a great sorcerer on earth and wished to meet him. 

“Oh you mean Strange?” James asked, “he’s upstairs. Clint and Sam told us that the Witch has got some shit cooking and he’s trying to shore up magical defences.” 

“The witch?” Loki cocked his head. 

“Tony made bombs, bombs got sold under the table by a dick, the people that bought them killed the witch’s parents, she blamed Tony, signed up with Hydra, _the Nazis_ , got experimented on, attacked the Avengers, signed up with Ultron the murder robot, realised she didn’t want to be a slave to a murder robot, joined the Avengers because Clint is soft and they needed extra people, still hated Tony, took Rogers’ side in the whole Civil War thing, convinced Rogers she’s a helpless baby, still hates Tony.” James explained. “She’s the one who fucked up Clint’s hearing too.” By the end of his explanation he was glaring darkly at the coffee table.

“I believe I could be of some assistance with the wards, if you would trust me enough to let me help?” Loki said tentatively. “There are many sorcerers on Asgard much powerful than she could ever be, and my mother could ensnare every one of them. She taught me everything I know.” 

Tony nodded after considering it and willed the floor lit up in a path to where Stephen was. “Follow the floor. If you fuck shit up, I’ll kill you.” 

Loki laughed and nodded. “I’d let you.” 

——

Stephen was not expecting the lady that walked into his office. 

For starters, she was absolutely _gorgeous_ , and Stephen didn’t think that about any of the people he’d seen around the tower before, secondly, she radiated more power than even Tony, and he’d never met anyone who did that, and thirdly, she looked far more timid than anyone that came to bother Stephen. They were always loud and demanding and friendly, and although he loved them to death, the only time he felt truly at peace in someone’s presence was when Clint was hiding in the vents and Stephen genuinely wasn’t aware he was there until the man popped in to ask if he wanted coffee. 

The lady gave him a small smile. “Are you Stephen Strange?” Her voice was pleasantly crisp and accented, southern English, perhaps.

“I am. Who are you?”

She smiled a little wider. “I’m Loki. I’ve offered my services to Tony Stark, as I may know a thing or two about the wards for the witch.” 

“Loki?” He repeated skeptically. 

“You don’t believe me? Because I’m a woman, or..” Loki trailed off, frowning.

“What? You think I don’t believe a god can change forms? No it’s not that. It’s just. I’ve heard stories from many people and I just..nobody expects the god- goddess, of mischief to be the politest person in the house, I suppose.”

Loki laughed. “Ah, of course. I simply wanted to avoid causing offence. I’ve heard a lot about you too, Dr Strange. I didn’t want to burst in here and take control like I had any doubts about your abilities.” 

Oh. Loki was _good_.

“Please, call me Stephen. I’m happy to learn, especially from such an esteemed sorceress as yourself.” He inclined his head respectfully. 

“I only hope you’ll find what I have to say useful, Stephen.” She grinned and perched next to him with feline grace, and started looking over his plans, making comments and adjustments where necessary.

——

In the end, Maximoff’s grand finale was kind of..pathetic. 

Clint and Sam had talked the tower’s inhabitants through the way they expected she would attack, explaining that she wasn’t fond of flying, it took to much power, and she had very minimal combat knowledge, so if they could overcome the magic part of things, she’d be an easy target. 

Stephen and Loki next explained that her powers were quite easy to overcome: they would carve runes into the floor of the room they intended to trap her in, that would lock onto the trace of the soul stone that remained with her, and remove it. 

So when she arrived, red miasma curling around her, yelling her demands of Tony as expected, all Tony had to do was back up until he reached a room that she deemed safe due to the large number of objects that could be weaponised, and watch as she fell to her knees as the floor soaked up every last inch of red.

“What is this?” She screamed. “My magic?!”

A maniacal laugh echoed around the room as Loki stepped forward, Stephen‘s arm around their waist smugly. 

“That, you insufferable cretin, is what real power looks like.” Loki sneered. “If you had trained at all, studied anything, you would have know that there are a multitude of runes for sapping every type of energy. But alas.” They smirked. “You were unprepared.” 

She kept screaming as Winter cuffed her, little red flickers sparking off her hands, only to be absorbed into the floor in exactly the same way as the rest. 

Stephen groaned. “Not that I want to help you or anything, but if you keep forcing magic, you’re going to hand over your life force. I’d love to see you do it. I really would. Unfortunately the hawk is rather sentimental, and Winter would be quite annoyed if you upset his new bestie.” He watched her impassively as she writhed in Winter’s grip. 

“You can kill her if you like.” Clint’s voice came from the air vent in the ceiling. “Phil told Nat..that he was alive. Nat told Steve everything and Steve told her everything.” His voice cracked slightly, and his next words were a dangerous snarl. “They all knew.” 

The room was silent for a beat. 

“So who gets to kill her?” Loki enquired. “My vote is we leave in her because she’ll inevitably try to push our claim that the runes will eat her life force, and then we’ll not really have done anything.” 

“Sounds good.” Winter grunted, before dropping her and immediately walking out. 

——

“Hey Bruce? It’s me, Tony.” 

“Yeah Tony, I’ve got caller ID. What is it?” 

“Remember the whole red issue that was stopping you bringing the Asgardians to the tower?” 

“Tony, what did you do?” 

“Me? What? I didn’t do anything. All I’m saying, is we’ve got a new power couple, Winter has a new best friend, and our red problem is no longer a thing. So..if you wanted to come home properly instead of the occasional visit? You can.”

“We’ll be six hours.”

“I can’t wait to see you.”

“I missed you too, Tony.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments appreciated, come find me on tumblr under the same name :)


End file.
